


Between Chapters

by DoodleKon



Category: One Piece
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Justified OOCness, M/M, Mostly weird and self-indulgent, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead type of mindfuckery, Very mild ZoSan, a little meta, but not really, characters exist when the work stops, kind of, like trees falling in a forest, mild spoilers up to 935, none of these tags are really helpful, rating due to language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-15 15:41:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18076205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoodleKon/pseuds/DoodleKon
Summary: Exactly what it says on the tin. Or, One Piece will be back next week, and Zoro is a little lost in the in-between. Or is he?





	Between Chapters

Zoro looked around, one eye squinting at his surroundings, irritation building up in a painful throb at his temples. The pathway, the trees (which, granted, he didn't recognize anymore) had started blurring into a smoky gray haze he knew all too well. He was lost again, alright, but this was a different kind of lost, that had become ironically familiar during the past two years. And once again, this place that he could neither escape nor figure out, found him alone.

As the world around him vanished, and Zoro was left suspended in a non-time, non-place, he sat down on the now foggy, gray floor and crossed his legs in front of him with a grunt. He would have to wait it out; it always came, it always passed. He didn't mind it so much when he was with the others; in fact, he kind of liked it. It was a sort of respite from all the madness, outside and in. But more often than not lately, it was just him, and even though he thought he should want to take a nap to ride it out (that is what he should want to do, what he would do if the world was still there) he never could bring himself to do it.

Whatever it was, it was harmless, but it made him question himself in a way he could not put into words. It was like the fog that surrounded him would creep inside him, erase everything like ink on a wet paper. He remembered well enough who he was, what he was doing before, what he needed to do next. He just found it all so foreign, that it started to feel like someone else's life, like a script. And that was the biggest problem, especially when he was alone, because he could not figure out what his life was supposed to feel like.

Zoro let out a controlled sigh. No point in over-thinking this. He just needed to wait.

His irritation ebbed away, the tension in his muscles with it. There was a sort of beauty in this limbo that insisted on swallowing him, for no apparent reason, at random times. If he thought hard enough, Zoro could almost remember the limbo being there, as a constant, before he started remembering his own existence. The thought always brought him a headache, though, so he let it drop.

Meditation, he decided, would work to pass the non-time. That felt right, and his, through and through. So Zoro closed his good eye, evened out his breathing, relished the white noise around him and let the fog empty his mind of everything.

"Lost again, Moss-head?"

One by one, like commands, or lines he'd learned by heart, a list of reactions flowed through his brain:

_Whip your head around. Growl. Bare your teeth. Draw your swords. Call him a pervert._

Zoro didn't. That was the best (and most confusing) part of this place. All those mandates held no real weight. Instead, he opened his eye and turned his head towards the newcomer, his expression shifting to honest surprise at the sight.

"What the fuck are you wearing?"

Sanji walked the last few steps towards him and sat next to Zoro. With one swift hand motion he lowered the mask covering half his face, and put his dark glasses on his head, like a head band. He shrugged and fished for a cigarette.

"Long story. You'll hear all about it later, I'm sure."

The sound of the lighter, the sight of how the blond hunched forward and cupped his hands to protect the flame from the non-existing breeze, the way his bangs fell forward, brought a smile to Zoro's face that he had forgotten he was capable of.

"Glad to have you back, Curly."

Sanji inhaled, looking up, and frowned.

"I'm…not, though. Am I? I mean… I am, but… " he looked at Zoro and motioned between the two with a finger. "We haven't met, yet."

Zoro shook his head, staring at the distance, as if hoping to see something there.

"Nah, but I figure you must be close by?"

"I was on my way to the bath.…" Sanji stopped himself, blushing bright red. "To meet with the girls."

Zoro chortled.

"Still at it, then? It's getting ridiculous."

The cook scrunched up his face in distaste.

"Tell me about it, you're not the one who almost died from nosebleeds." Zoro patted his back in sympathy. It seemed like it had been years ago, but that whole incident had been hard on the Cook's self-esteem. Sanji tilted his chin towards him. "Where are you supposed to be, though?"

Now it was Zoro's turn to lower his gaze and hope his cheeks were not tinting red.

"I'm looking for a sword. I…I followed the path, it was a straight line, I swear, but..."

"It moved?" Sanji's laugh was not mocking, for a change, and Zoro took no offense.

He grunted in agreement and they both felt into silence for a moment, his hand now resting comfortably on the Cook's back. It was nice, to sit quietly like this. They would eventually meet for real, they could catch up then. Zoro was sure their meeting would be filled with petty insults, and empty threats. He knew he would probably try to play it cool, or mask his relief with derision and/or anger. He hoped so, at least. At the back of his mind he feared he would be indifferent, and it left a bitter taste in his mouth. But for a few minutes, he could be free to be happy like this.

"I missed you." The Cook said finally, in a soft, unsure voice.

Zoro closed his eye, his hand leaving the Cook's back in favor for the other man's hand and squeezed it.

It was weird, the way he felt when they were here. It was only when they were here, as if something beyond his control would push everything down the moment the world resumed, leaving only annoyance and rivalry. The rivalry was fun, and the annoyance was half-hearted. There was also respect; boundless amounts of it. But this tenderness he felt here, always melted away.

For now, he could let it all out freely, so Zoro seized the opportunity.

"You're a moron and you should have trusted us."

Sanji winced.

"It wasn't you I didn't trust."

There it was. Zoro always knew it was there, with or without the world around them. That unwarranted self-doubt, that less-warranted self-loathing. It usually annoyed him, made him want to punch it out of the Cook's face. Now, he just turned to face Sanji, and the Cook turned to face him, as if synchronized, neither letting go of the other's hand. His free hand found itself brushing Sanji's bangs tenderly.

"Like I said: moron."

Sanji leaned into the touch with a sigh drenched in relief.

The white noise around them became louder, sharper, and with it Zoro felt the urge to remove his hands as if they burned. Sanji also tensed, immediately standing up and putting a bit of distance between them. His eyes were still looking softly down at him.

"Hurry up and get back, shitty swordsman."

Zoro stood up as well, dusting his clothes and snarling in spite of himself.

"As if I'd hurry to see your ugly mug again."

"Tch, Shithead." Sanji turned with a hand wave and started walking away, towards a row of trees barely distinguishable in the distance, the smoke from his cigarette mixing with the dissipating fog.

Zoro felt a tightness in his chest at the sight of the retreating form. It had been too short, too little. He should have said more, done more.

"Go perv out somewhere else, asshole." He shouted back, resuming his walk through the unfamiliar grounds.

 

Maybe next time.

**Author's Note:**

> Dipping my toes in this fandom with this whatever this is. Got tired of lurking. Was it too confusing?


End file.
